Always Be My Baby
by SilverSeahorse
Summary: Rachel may be happy with Joey, but when she returns to her old life, she's in for a shock at the way she feels about someone else... RR, MC - Please R&R! Chapter 2 up!
1. These Miss You Nights

**Always Be My Baby  
  
Hey! I'm Kat and this is my first attempt at a Friends fic, so please bear with me! I have write fics all the time, but this is the first one about the Friends guys that I have dared to post here for everyone to read, so I hope you enjoy it alright!  
  
I just have to point a few things out. The fic is slightly A/U, in that certain things have happened differently to the show, but the basis is still the same with them living in New York and knowing each other the way they do in the programme. It might all be a bit clearer once you read the thing because I am useless at explaining, lol! Oh, as well as that, I'm a huge fan of Friends but I'm not someone who knows every line from every episode and stuff and I haven't got every DVD to check up on times and situations and things to make the fic more realistic, so I'm sorry if anything is wrong or weird! Feel free to correct me if I make an obvious error which isn't part of the story!  
  
Right, also, I can't quite decide when this should take place in the timescale but anyway, Ross and Rachel have already been together but I haven't decided whether to keep their break-up the same as it was on the show or for another reason. Any preference, please let me know! Monica and Chandler are not together yet, but I might change that later in the story depending on how it goes.  
  
Oh and one last thing – I am Scottish, not American, so if anything sounds un-authentic, that'll be why! I take my lead from the show – I have never even been to the US! It means my geography is rubbish too, so sorry! If someone can give me a suitable place that Rachel and Joey might be living which fits in with the story, I'd be grateful!******

  
**Chapter 1 – These Miss You Nights**  
  
"Ross...Ross!"  
  
Rachel sat bolt upright in bed and felt herself break out into a cold sweat. She rubbed her eyes, adjusting to the darkness the room was bathed in, and tried to calm her breathing. Her heart was racing at a million miles an hour as she collected her confused thoughts. She glanced beside her at the sleeping Joey before climbing out of bed, quietly so as not to wake him.  
  
In the safely of anywhere-but-bedroom, Rachel turned on a lamp and sat in one of the huge, comfy sofas which littered the living room. She couldn't understand it. She was in a relationship with Joey, one of her best friends who took care of her and whom she loved very much, and yet every night for the past week, the only person who had occupied her dreams was Ross. Why would she suddenly start dreaming about a guy she hadn't seen for at least a year? Admittedly she'd had a relationship with him, which had ended a long time ago, but she'd had relationships with a lot of guys before Joey and she wasn't dreaming about any of them.  
  
Perhaps this was her punishment for not keeping in touch as well as she should have, but the two of them had been so busy since their move from New York. Joey was constantly in demand for acting work and Rachel had been building up her own fashion business, so they'd become a little slack with correspondence. That didn't mean Rachel wasn't missing her old friends and indeed, her old life. She missed gossiping with Monica until 3am. She missed laughing at whatever jokes Chandler would come out with. She missed shopping with Phoebe for mad ornaments to decorate her flat with. And she missed talking to Ross about loads of different things.  
  
It had been hard to adjust, but Rachel thought she'd done pretty well, up until now at least. She'd immersed herself in work to make sure she didn't start yearning for home or something, and had noticed Joey doing the same albeit with the minimum fuss. And at least they'd had each other to gossip and laugh and shop and talk. So what if it wasn't the same as it used to be? Nothing could ever stay the same forever, and that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. In New York, Rachel had become stuck in a rut. When Joey had got his big break and was told he'd have to move, he had confessed his love for Rachel and asked her to go with him. It may have been impulsive, but it had meant she could start over and do something she really enjoyed.  
  
But if she really enjoyed it, why was she dreaming of her ex-boyfriend and feeling a longing to see all her friends again?  
  
In New York, four friends were laughing together as they watched a movie in Monica's apartment. Friday night was movie night and without exception, Phoebe, Chandler and Monica's brother Ross would come round with a video and lots of food. It had originally begun as a way of coming to terms with the joint departure of Rachel and Joey, two of their greatest friends, but had quickly become a regular fixture in everyone's week. It was something to look forward to after five days of work.  
  
"Hey, do you think that girl's really a terrible actress or is she just putting it on for the part?" Monica wondered aloud, reaching for the bowl of popcorn on the table.  
  
"Well I don't know about you, but when I audition actresses, I'm hoping they're going to be really, really bad."  
  
Monica rolled her eyes at Chandler's sarcastic comment. "You're the one who brought this film, anyway."  
  
"I did not! It was Phoebe, Phoebe made me do it!" Chandler pointed at the slim blonde, who shrugged.  
  
"It looked good on the shelf... Oh, and the guy behind the counter said it was on special discount," she added with a satisfied smile.  
  
"Hmm, I can't think why that might be," Chandler deadpanned. "If she wasn't so hot, I'd have left in protest by now."  
  
Monica crossed her legs. She was sitting in the armchair, while the boys occupied the sofa. Phoebe said she was comfortable enough on the floor, where she'd taken to doing stretches every now and then. "I wonder..." She paused, unsure whether she should risk saying it.  
  
"What, sweetie?" Phoebe asked, her legs straight out in front of her as she reached over to touch her toes, ignoring the stares she was receiving from Chandler and Ross.  
  
Monica cleared her throat. "I was just gonna say, I wonder how Joey's acting is going. I mean, I know sometimes we thought he wasn't very good but hell, he was way better than these people!" Her comment was intended to lighten the tension which had suddenly descended, like it always did when one of the two 'missing' names was mentioned.  
  
"I'm sure it's going great," Ross replied, taking an interest in the cookie he was holding. He didn't like thinking about Joey, because as much as he missed him, Joey also made him think about Rachel, and that hurt like hell. He'd always loved her, since they were in school together, but something hadn't worked between them when they'd finally got together. She may not have been gone a long time, but it had been long enough to confirm in Ross's mind what he'd known deep down all along – he was in love with Rachel, more than she'd ever realise. And then Joey... But Joey was his best friend, and no matter what happened he could never hate Joey. Plus Joey had been able to offer her everything he, Ross, couldn't. A place in the sun, money, a new start, a career... All Ross had ever really had was his heart, and that wasn't enough.  
  
"Yeah, I bet he's doing really well," Phoebe added. "After that other soap opera he did, I heard he'd got loads of offers to do more TV stuff, you know, like comedies and things. Just rumours, though."  
  
"It'd be nice if he'd tell us himself, one day," Chandler spoke up, no trace of his usual humour in his voice. Out of them all, Joey's absence had hit him the hardest. After all, they'd been roommates for so long and without Joey, Chandler had no one to bounce off. He never showed it, because he buried his emotions, but the past year had been so difficult to get through for Chandler, without Joey.  
  
"He will," Monica said hopefully, setting the bowl down on the floor. She didn't have much of an appetite now. "Of course he will. Joey never forgets his friends. He'll be busy, that's all. And so will Rachel." Monica caught Phoebe's eye at this and the two of them smiled sadly as they thought of the missing piece in their jigsaw.  
  
The silence which followed was almost unbearable as each person thought about the two they had lost, until Phoebe broke it. "Hey, I think we should get a pizza. I'm starving."  
  
The others agreed, grateful for the interruption and went back to laughing at the dreadful movie while Phoebe ordered their pizzas. It was so easy to gloss over the pain and act as if nothing had ever happened...  
  
"Rach? You ok?" Joey looked concernedly at her over the coffee and muffins the two of them were having Saturday morning in their spacious kitchen. Since Joey had started making money from his TV work, he'd bought a large house for them both, a motorbike for himself and a shiny Porsche for Rachel. She'd been really touched by that gift, as Joey had wanted the car but decided he should give it to her instead. It was just another token of how much he cared for her.  
  
"Huh?" Rachel was brought back down to earth by Joey's voice. She had been staring absently out of the window, wondering how things were going back in the city. "Oh, yeah, sweetie, I'm fine."  
  
"You sure? Because you don't look all that fine..." Joey reached across to stroke Rachel's cheek, and she recoiled a little without thinking. "What's the matter?"  
  
"Nothing!" Rachel smiled and stood up, collecting their cups to place in the dishwasher. "Honestly, there is nothing wrong with me. Don't you have a meeting to go to?"  
  
Joey came up behind Rachel as she stacked the dishes and wrapped his arms tightly around her waist. "If you want, I can cancel and we can stay here instead..."  
  
Rachel turned around and kissed Joey gently. "No, don't be silly. Your meeting is very important, and I have some shopping to do. We can make up for it later, yeah?"  
  
Joey grinned, sliding his hands round to rest on Rachel's hips. "Sure we can." This time he kissed her, and it was a lasting, meaningful kiss. "See ya, babe." His embrace deserted her and he was gone, leaving Rachel alone in the house, wondering about everything. 


	2. New York Calling

**Always Be My Baby **

**Ok I just wanted to say thank you very much to the people who have been kind enough to review me so far - and thanks to the person who told me how I can accept anonymous reviews because I had no idea I couldn't, lol! I appreciate all feedback and help so I am really grateful.**

**I also wanted to say sorry for not stating clearly enough whether the fic was going to be RR or RJ. The only reason I put both in the summary was because in the other fics I write, I always have to warn whether there's any 'action' between pairs even if they're not the main couple of the story, if you get me. I was just adapting my old habits here but I will change it and just for the record, this fic WILL be RR and not RJ, with MC later on. Hope that's helped!**

**Oh and I know chapters are quite short at the moment but only because I am writing two other fics at the moment, lol! I will try and make them longer if there's any sort of demand ;) And I can't make asterisks work on here so when you see a line of 'xxx' then that's a change in the story!**

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**Chapter 2 - New York Calling  
**  
Phoebe banged her way into Monica's apartment on Monday evening carrying a basket of fruit and looking happy. Only Monica was there, having come home early from the restaurant.  
  
"Hey Pheebs," Monica called from her bedroom, before she appeared in the doorway.  
  
"Oh my God, how did you know it was me?" Phoebe looked slightly scared until Monica laughed.  
  
"I knew it was you because of the way you closed the door," she explained, coming over to the kitchen area.  
  
"Oh I see, so you're saying I close the door like a girl?" Phoebe sounded quite annoyed at that idea, but Monica shook her head.  
  
"No, you DON'T close it like a girl. That's the difference between you and the guys." The two of them laughed and hugged, before Monica asked what the fruit basket was for.  
  
"Well, this guy in Central Perk gave it to me after he saw me play! I have no idea why, but he seemed to think it was a good idea..." She shrugged and took an apple from the basket. "So what's new with you?"  
  
"Oh, nothing. Nothing's new with me," Monica replied, wandering back over to her room. "Nothing except... I have a date."  
  
Phoebe squealed. "You do? That's so exciting! When?"  
  
"Tomorrow night." Monica bit her lip. "And... I don't have anything to wear."  
  
"Don't worry, you can borrow something from me if you want," Phoebe offered, making Monica turn red.  
  
"I kinda already borrowed something... from Rachel," she said, almost- casually. Noticing the look of surprise crossed with confusion on Phoebe's face, she continued. "She left stuff in her room, so I had a look and well... I like a lot of it! And let's face it, she's not likely to need it any time soon so I thought why not... Please stop looking at me like that."  
  
Phoebe blinked, as if coming out of a trance. "Sorry, I didn't mean to. I just wouldn't have thought you'd want to. I thought you missed her too much."  
  
"I do!" Monica cried. "I miss her like crazy! I wanted to be close to her so I took her clothes! Plus I really do like that skirt..." Now Monica had tears in her eyes and Phoebe jumped up to hug her. "It's ok, I'll be fine. It was Friday night. I'd been doing so well, then I had to go and mention them. Now everyone's depressed because of me."  
  
"I'm not!" Phoebe led Monica over to the sofa and sat her down with a few tissues from the box. "You didn't depress me. We all think about them. We just don't talk about them that much. It was probably a good thing you did."  
  
"Really?" Monica wiped her eyes. "Because I can't help thinking I've made things ten times worse. Especially for Ross, all alone in his flat..."  
  
"But Mon, we're all all alone in our flats," Phoebe reminded her.  
  
"Yeah, I know. Ross just seems alone-er. I saw his face when Rachel was mentioned. It was so sad and I felt terrible."  
  
Phoebe nodded. "I know you do honey, but you know he has to deal with it all in his own time. And he's not been doing so bad. Apparently, some girl at the museum likes him."  
  
Monica's jaw dropped. "Seriously? Since when? Why did nobody tell me?"  
  
"Not sure. He told me this in confidence which I suppose means I'm not meant to tell you, but hey, what the hell, I just did."  
  
"I don't get it. Why wouldn't he want me to know? I'm his sister, I'd be happy for him." Monica reached for another tissue.  
  
"I think he's worried you're still hung up on the idea of him and Rachel. I mean, obviously he is, but he knows you want them to be together and stuff... Maybe he's uncomfortable. Hey, he didn't even say he'd asked this girl out or anything."  
  
Monica sighed. "Oh Pheebs. I'd love nothing more than for Ross to have Rachel back, but even I realised it's never gonna happen. Rachel is with Joey now and she doesn't even live here! Hell, she doesn't even call here! So if Ross wants to date some girl from the museum, that is his choice and nothing to do with me."  
  
"Wow, you're actually beginning to sound like Rachel now, too," Phoebe mused.

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"Rach?"  
  
Rachel didn't hear her name being called at first. She was sitting on the porch, on the cute little swing she'd adored from the moment she saw it, gently swinging to accompany the gentle night breeze. Beside her lay a box of cookies. They weren't half as good as the ones Monica made.  
  
"Rach?"  
  
That time she heard, and turned around to see Joey standing in the doorway, looking worried.  
  
"Oh, hey," she smiled, moving the box so that he could sit down. "Sorry, I was just thinking."  
  
"What about?" he asked, draping his arm around her shoulders.  
  
"I dunno... Stuff." She sighed and picked at the remainder of her cookie. "Joey, do you ever miss the guys?" She couldn't bring herself to look up in case she started crying.  
  
"Of course I miss them! How could I not miss them? Is that why you're upset?"  
  
Rachel shrugged. "Maybe, I don't know. I've just been thinking about them lately and we haven't seen them in a long time, Joe. I feel terrible for not calling Monica in the beginning but I never had a chance, and now I just feel like it'd be weird for me to." She didn't resist when Joey pulled her into his arms and kissed the top of her head.  
  
"Rach, why didn't you say something before?"  
  
"I didn't want to seem like I was homesick or anything. Or ruin your whole exciting job thing. To be honest I hadn't even thought about them a lot until lately. I'd forced myself to forget and now it's hit me really hard."  
  
"Yeah. So what made you think about them now?"  
  
Rachel felt her heart skip a beat and hoped it didn't betray her. "I'm not sure... I think I had a dream about Phoebe or something..." She didn't want to say Ross in case it hurt Joey, and in case it affected her.  
  
Joey moved and cupped Rachel's face in his hands. "Look, you should tell me when this is bothering you. We should go back and visit next week." He watched her face break into a huge smile and couldn't help mirroring it.  
  
"Really? You're not busy?"  
  
"Well, yeah, but that's not important. It can wait until we've seen the guys. Ok?"  
  
Rachel nodded happily. "Ok." She let him kiss her then, feeling much more relaxed. "Hey, you know what? I think I'm gonna come to bed now." She took him by the hand and led him back inside, knowing that she was going to wash away any dreams of anyone else by showing Joey her true feelings for him.  
  
Rachel and Joey decided that their visit would be a surprise, and that they'd turn up outside Monica's flat without any prior warning. They both knew they might not receive the warmest of welcomes, so Joey booked them into a hotel as a precaution. It scared Rachel to even consider the possibility of Monica not wanting to see her, but it was a risk she was willing to take. It had been far too long and it was starting to hurt far too much.  
  
They were going to fly over on Friday, so on the Wednesday before, Rachel went shopping with a couple of friends she'd made at her new work. They weren't the same as Monica and Phoebe, but then nobody could be, and anyway these girls were perfectly nice, if you ignored the fact that all they ever talked about was fashion and boyfriends. Rachel rarely joined in the conversation, settling for a nod and a smile.  
  
"So Rachel, what are you doing this weekend?" Chloe asked, sipping her iced tea. Chloe was one of Rachel's assistants and about eight years younger, but she seemed nice and was always eager. The fact that they had nothing in common didn't come into it, because it was preferable than having to eat lunch alone, Rachel thought.  
  
"Um, well, I'm going to visit my friends in New York," she replied. "I've meant to do it for ages but I've been so busy and – "  
  
"Are you taking Joey?" Isabel asked excitedly. Isabel worked in the office next to Rachel's and never felt under any obligation to hide the fact she had a crush on Joey from his girlfriend who was always nearby.  
  
Rachel managed to resist the almost-overwhelming urge to roll her eyes, and instead smiled tightly at Isabel. "Yes, yes I am, seeing as he's my boyfriend and all."  
  
Isabel made a frustrated noise. "God, you are so damn lucky! My boyfriend's an asshole."  
  
"Yeah, he really is," Chloe nodded, patting Isabel's back in sympathy. "You're lucky to be with someone you love, Rachel."  
  
Rachel smiled again but the smile never reached her eyes. She knew she was lucky, of course, so she couldn't figure out why she didn't _feel_ it very often. Probably missing my friends, she told herself, sure that everything would be much better once she'd seen the others again.


End file.
